With a man on each flank, honorary captain Peyton Manning walked to midfield at Sports Authority Field at Mile High for the coin toss to Super Bowl LIII.

Manning and the men alongside waved to their adoring, bundled crowd that was mitten-clapping, but loudly chanting: "One more year! One more year!"

Now 42 years old, retired for two years, his breath steaming as it collided with the chilled Colorado air on the late afternoon of Feb. 10, 2019, Manning was receiving heartfelt appreciation for leading the Broncos to five playoff berths, two Super Bowl appearances and one world championship in his five-year run with the team.

Walking alongside and to his right for the ceremonial coin toss was his former head coach, John Fox. John Elway, the Broncos' front-office boss during the Manning years, was on his left.

The Denver Post's NFL reporters post analysis, notes and more on this blog focusing on the Denver Broncos.

When Manning retired, Fox and Elway went with him. The Denver crowd was cheering just as much for them. Together, the trio went 60-20 in the regular season — 12-4 every year.

But in the two seasons since Manning, Fox and Elway retired, the Broncos went 8-8 and 8-8 and missed the playoffs both years.

Among the players who greeted Manning, Fox and Elway at midfield for the coin toss was Brock Osweiler, the starting quarterback for the NFC champion Los Angeles Rams.

Osweiler was the one Elway move that turned out to be a great pick, but at the wrong time. Selected in the second round by the Broncos way back in the 2012 draft, Osweiler was Manning's backup for four years, never stepping on the field except in preseason games, the ever-meaningless Week 17s of the regular season and the occasional victory formation to finish out a game.

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A free agent after four years, Osweiler had a difficult decision to make — wait out one more year on the Broncos' bench in case Manning retired, or become a free agent.

If you sat for four years, what would you do? Osweiler bolted and was given a five-year, $100 million contract by Stan Kroenke, who had moved the St. Louis Rams' franchise back home to L.A. before the 2016 season.

The timing of the first Super Bowl in Denver was bittersweet. It almost didn't happen because every time the local TV stations reported on the city's bid for the Super Bowl in 2018, 2019 or 2020, the "B roll" showed snow falling off the stadium roof in Dallas, or film from the Monday night blizzard game against the Green Bay Packers in October 1984.

The Denver Post was no better. Every time Jeremy P. Meyer provided an update on Denver's Super Bowl chances — at last count, there were 2,266 stories in all, or an average of one per day since Nov. 28, 2012 — his story was accompanied by a photo of a guy clearing snow from the Broncos' home stadium.

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Still, the Broncos were awarded the 2019 Super Bowl because five years earlier, in the Super Bowl that was played in a snowstorm at New Meadowlands Stadium, Denver, behind Manning's two-point conversion pass with 10 seconds remaining, defeated the Mike Shanahan-Robert Griffin III Washington Redskins 29-28.

A record 220 million people around the world watched the game.

Apparently, the snowstorm mesmerized viewers in Australia and India. And that's how Denver became a slam-dunk to host Super Bowl LIII.

Alas, Denver had gone six years without a trace of snow by the time Super Bowl LIII came around.

And so Peyton Manning had a dry landing spot for the commemorative coin he flipped. It's unclear whether Osweiler called "heads" or "tails," but he won the toss. He and Manning shook hands. The crowd cheered.

When: 11 a.m. MST on Sunday at Tennessee, the second of three consecutive road games on the Texans' schedule. Johnson's team next plays a Monday night game at New England.

What's up: Johnson has been the NFL's top receiver each of the past two weeks — by wide margins. Two weeks ago, in a 43-37 overtime win against Jacksonville, Johnson had 14 catches for 273 yards. Next best was Jacksonville's Justin Blackmon with seven catches for 236 yards. In his last game — another overtime win — at Detroit on Thanksgiving, Johnson had nine catches for 188 yards. Next best was Atlanta's Julio Jones with six catches for 147 yards.

Texans receiver Andre Johnson has staged a remarkable resurgence of his career this season at age 31. (Getty Images North America | Gregory Shamus)

Background: Johnson was Miami through and through — until he became a Texan. Born and raised in Miami, he was a teammate of Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams and running back Willis McGahee at the University of Miami. Johnson was the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2003. He was widely considered the NFL's best receiver in 2008-09, when he had 216 catches, 2,785 yards and 17 TDs.

Klis' take: Raise your hand, fantasy players, if you saw this two-game breakout coming. All signs pointed to Johnson playing on the downside of his career. He had missed 12 combined games the previous two seasons because of injuries. He is 31 years old. And he got off to slow start in 2012, even if the Texans were hot as a team. In his first nine games, Johnson had 46 catches for 597 yards — an average of 5.1 catches and 66.3 yards. Not great. But in the last two games, he averaged 11.5 catches and 230.5 yards. Tremendous.

THREE UP

1. Redskins: Since Shanny proclaimed "wait 'til next year," his team has gone 2-0 this year.

2. 49ers: You know they're good when they bench a starting QB who completed 25-of-27 in his past two games.

3. Ravens: The "other" Harbaugh, John, has 53 wins with five games left in his fifth season. And he has five more playoff wins.

THREE DOWN

1. Raiders: Dennis Allen's defense has allowed 42.3 points per game during a four-game losing streak.

2. Eagles: Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson are down, and the defense has allowed 157 points in past five games.

3. Packers: Woeful line: Aaron Rodgers has taken an NFL-most 37 sacks, and the Packers have league-low two rushing touchdowns.

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

PARIS (AP) — Bye, New York! Ciao, Milan! Bonjour, Paris! The world's largest traveling circus of fashion editors, models, buyers and journalists has descended on the French capital, clutching their metro maps and city guides, to cap the ready-to-wear fashion season. Full Story